Monday, December 17, 2007

This weekend, went by in a blur.First was my hubby's commencement ceremony for his Masters, which at one point early this year I thought I was going to have to force him to attend. Wooo hooo, I forget just how many years, but he did it! After which we all needed sustenance and a nap, and Trust me after 2 1/2 hours and Sonny's barbeque, we really needed the nap. Then came Sunday and along with it the Christmas card photos. We couldn't figure out the flash on my camera. Then we couldn't get our act together to pose for the actual pictures. There are a lot of photos of one of us running into the frame.But I'm seriously considering sending out the outtakes as the Christmas cards though my mother in law isn't in favor of it. Just in case your wondering we usually send out around 200 cards so she hits her family and I do mine that way every one gets one and no-one is missed. So I leave you with Alexandra doing her imperial best , to get me to stop taking pictures of her. So here's my question for you just how many pictures did you have to take to get the right one? We're at 20 plus and counting.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Thank heavens! Someone has finally come up with a way to show people how to behave while traveling, ( yes , I know that's what common sense is for, but really do people use that part of their brain anymore? ). Delta air lines has come up with animated sketches showing customers in delicate situations. So here's the link to their bloghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsmGJdLYyYI let me know what you think.

So the baking didn't happen on Tuesday as planned. It's just hard to coordinate with someone who lives in a completely different country and is six hours ahead of you. Though honestly I just need a better speaker phone, and more time. my cousin is guilty however of eating most of her maraschino Cherries,( Which were soaked in rum and red wine) so we'll have to give her a couple of days. So, what did I do instead you ask; well I had tea with a new friend, whom I had invited over to view the baking process. ( For all the info you ever wanted on tea start here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea ) Don't you just love Wikipedia? I grew up in a former British colony were tea is major part of life, and memories of Sunday tea at my aunt Patsy's house, where her mahogany table had been polished to a shine and a tea cloth put on it while, cookies and scones and fresh baked bread, shared the spotlight with a large fruit cake and the Earl Grey tea . For us it was a time to gather as a family and to slowdown at least enough to enjoy if not a meal then a break. Which brings me back to yesterday it was good to sit down and talk and enjoy a cup of tea, poured from my mother's tea pot, with someone who enjoyed it as much as I did. Here's my question to you: When was the last time you took time out for something you really enjoyed? and What was it?

Saturday, December 8, 2007

I finally made the decision to set up a blog last night, so here I am ready to let everyone into my head. It Christmas Time and when I should be singing Deck the halls, I have yet to Deck the halls but the good news is at least I have the floors down, the walls painted and the tree is up. Funny enough my cousin in France and I have a date to make Black Cake over the phone. I know sounds crazy right? But you're probably asking;What is Black cake? Traditional Christmas fare from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, its also used as wedding cake. It's a heavy fruit cake made with red wine, brandy and rum. For those of you who are curious and would like to try it out, here is my Aunty Patsy's recipe:

INGREDIENTS

1/2 lb EACH butter ,sugar and flour

6 eggs

2tsp. b/powder

1/2 bottle browning

cinnamon/pumpkin pie spice

vanilla essence(your preference)

1 1/2-2lbs dried fruit soaked for a few days earlier in a mixture of wine(red) and brandy(enough to cover the fruit in the container)

METHOD

Cream butter and sugar.add eggs(beaten or otherwise),flour with b/powder and spices.

Add browning to taste(colour).

In a blender, crush half the soaked fruits.

Add this mush and the rest of the fruits to the batter.

Pour into greased and floured tins and bake in a 350 degree oven until a toothpick comes out clean.